<p>Unfortunately for Heatran, the introduction of new threats such as Keldeo that have made rain more dominant than ever has only added to its woes. In fact, there is always a Water- or Fighting-type Pokémon or attack waiting to defeat it. This is not to speak about its 4x weakness to Ground, which makes Heatran easy prey for Dugtrio. With so many things that make Heatran's life difficult, one may question why Heatran is still one of the most used Pokémon.</p>

<p>The answer lies in the fact that Heatran is perhaps the best Fire-type in OU, and the easiest to fit on teams. Thanks to its unique Fire/Steel typing, it combines the offensive characteristics of a Fire-type with the defensive prowess of a Steel-type, which in combination with its Flash Fire ability, isthe reason why Heatran is so prevalent despite the ubiquitous rain teams. The aforementioned crippling weakness to Water-type attacks, Earthquake, and Fighting-type blows notwithstanding, the typing and ability give Heatran important 4x resistances to Ice, Grass, Bug, and Steel, as well as an immunity to Fire-type attacks and many other resistances (including to the omnipresent Outrages and Draco Meteors)! Withpowerful Fire-type STAB, Heatran can take out most Steel- and Grass-types easily. It is also very versatile, having the ability to run specially defensive sets to wall special attackers lacking a super effective move, offensive support sets, and even trapping sets. Most Steel-types in OU are free switch-ins forHeatran, as they generally don't use moves that can threaten it. Heatran is also the best counter to sun teams; once their Dugtrio or Terrakion is out of the equation, sun teams are hard-pressed to do much to defeat it. All these make it one of the best Pokémon in OU, despite a metagame that is seemingly conspiring against it.</p>

<p>It is hard to imagine something that can support teams and pose an offensive threat at the same time, but Heatran can do this. It has a potent STAB Fire Blast that can roast most Steel-types and Grass-types, even in rain. This set can also deal with many Dragon-types, set up Stealth Rock reliably, and wall sun teams despite the lack of defensive investiment. All of these make Heatran one of the most versatile special attackers in OU, and you should always consider using this set on your non-rain teams.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set. As said above, it defeats most Steel- and Grass-types, as well as Bug-types, all of which are surprisingly common on OU and demand Fire-type attacks to deal with them. However, there is one Steel-type that laughs at Fire-type attacks and actually loves being hit by them:Heatran itself! That's where Earth Power comes in, as it is able to maim opposing Heatran. Be wary of Air Balloon variants, however. Earth Power also hits Rock-types such as Tyranitar and Terrakionthat resist Fire Blast. Not that Heatran would dare staying in on Terrakion, of course, but it can discourage Terrakion from switching in a second time, as it is 2HKOed by Earth Power. In sandstorm, they can both avoid the 2HKO, however, so take care. As for Hidden Power, we have two choices. Hidden Power Ice is the recommended one: with a combination of Air Balloon, a Fire/Steel typing, and a Flash Fire ability, Heatran is able to defeat any Dragon-type that lacks a Fighting-or Water-type attack, as long as it maintains itsAir Balloon. Examples are Dragonite and Salamence, both which are hard-pressed to do much to Heatranwith its Air Balloon intact. If you feel that your team already has plenty of ways to deal with Dragon-types, or if your team has problems with bulky Water-types, Hidden Power Grass can be used. Hidden Power Ice is usually the superior choice, however, as with it, Heatran can take advantage of its resistance to Dragon-type attacks and the ability to come in safely on the Dragon-types that lack a Water- or Fighting-type attack.</p>

<p>The last slot is dedicated to a support option. Stealth Rock is the main one, as Heatran is one of the best and most reliable users of it; it forces many switches and can take out Magic Bounce users such as Espeon and Xatu with STAB Fire Blast. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, it can be replaced by Toxic. Taunt shuts down common switch-ins such as Chansey and Blissey, as well as things expecting to use Heatran as setup fodder, like Gyarados or even Calm Mind Keldeo. Toxic is another option that can cripple bulky Water-types that would otherwise love to switch on Heatran lacking Hidden Power Grass. Toxic also lets Heatran beat Volcarona 1vs1; despite being able to wall Volcarona (unless it runs Hidden Power Ground), Heatran is not able to do much back without Toxic.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>There are many other options that can be used in the last slot.Heatran can spread is burns through Will-O-Wisp; though many bulky Water-types have reliable recovery to heal off burn damage with, Will-O-Wisp can cripple common switch-ins such as Tyranitar, Gyarados, Dragonite, and Terrakion. Flame Charge boosts Heatran's Speed, enabling it to sweep late-game once the opposing team has been weakened and its checks and counters have been removed, and is especially useful on sets with Life Orb. It also lets Heatran beat Dugtrio, as Heatran canoutspeed and OHKO Dugtrio with Hidden Power or Fire Blast. Roar is yet another option that can save life against some Dragon-type setup sweepers, break Baton Pass chains, and rack up hazard damage. If you use Hidden Power Grass, Dragon Pulse can be used so that Heatran can still cover Dragon-types. The last slot is mainly filler, and you should use the option that best fits your team's needs.</p>

<p>Air Balloon is the primary item to avoid Ground-type attacks, Spikes, and being trapped by Dugtrio. Please be careful with what you switch in Heatran on, as otherwise, Air Balloon will pop for nothing and Heatran will not be able to wall Dragon-types. Generally, Heatran should be switching in on an expected Ground-or Fire-type move, or a status move. Life Orb provides a much-needed boost to Heatran's attacks and is very useful if it is using options like Dragon Pulse of Flame Charge in the last slot. However, the utility of Air Balloon is generally too good to pass up. Leftovers provides longevity, but it is very hard to find a reason to use it over Life Orb or Air Balloon; you are better off using the Substitute set if you want to use Leftovers.</p>

<p>252 Special Attack EVs lets Heatran hit as hard as possible. 4 SpD seems trivial at first, but prevent the rare yet very annoying Porygon2 from gaining a Special Attack boost. A Timid nature and 252 Speed EVs let Heatran outspeed Adamant Dragonite, as well as all variants of Breloom; it can then OHKO the former with Hidden Power Ice (after Multiscale has been broken) and the latter with Fire Blast (Mach Punch will not OHKO a full-health Heatran). However, a bulky EV spread of 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe and a Modest nature is very viable, as apart from the aforementioned threats, there aren't many situations where Heatran will be in need of Speed, and the extra bulk is really appreciated. Still, the aforementioned threats are so omnipresent that you may still find the Speed to be very useful. It is worth noting that Chople Berry is a useful item with the bulky EV spread, as it lets Heatran live the Fighting-type blows from the likes of Terrakion and Breloom.</p>

<p>As for partners, Pokémon that attract Fire-type attacks tend to be the best. Forretress complements Heatran's Stealth Rock with Spikes and can check Terrakion and Haxorus, two Pokémon that are dangerous for Heatran. Scizor can dispose of Blissey and Chansey and check the Lati twins, Tyranitar, and Terrakion, all of which can threaten Heatran in some way or another. Finally, Ferrothorn also has access to Spikes and can dispose of bulky Water-types. Ninetales is another good partner because its Drought will power up Fire Blast, but Tyranitar can dispose of the Lati twins and the pink blobs and is thus an excellent partner too. Celebi and Jellicent have amazing synergy with Heatran; the former easily defeats bulky Water-types that counter Heatran, and the latter is immune to the only two weakness that Heatran has (with Air Balloon). Both also counter Keldeo, which is capable of countering this Heatran very well, as well as Sheer Force Landorus, which can still defeat Heatran with Focus Blast. Landorus-T can counter Terrakion, and thus is a notable partner. Gengar can spinblock, preventing Heatran's Stealth Rock from being spun away, and checks most Fighting-types and the aforementioned Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

<p>Although Heatran is an excellent offensive Pokémon, don't forget itsimpressive 91/106/106 defenses, which in conjunction with its unique Fire/Steel typing and ability make Heatran a great special wall, even though it has no reliable recovery. Heatran is not setup bait either, as it has Roar and a huge base 130 Special Attack. Lava Plume is the best STAB option for this set, with its burn chance making up for the lack of investment inDefense. Protect scouts Choice users while also racking up passive damage and Leftovers recovery. Toxic is the status move of choice because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery and affects Volcarona (which is especially useful if you don't run Roar, as Heatran is hard-pressed to do much back otherwise). Plus, Lava Plume already carries a 30% chance to burn the opponent.</p>

<p>The last moveslot contains a myriad of options, and can be customized depending on your team's needs. Stealth Rock is an excellent support move, and this Heatran is one of its best users. Thanks to investment in Special Defense, Heatran is capable of surviving even uninvested rain-boosted Scalds from bulky Water-types, letting it set up Stealth Rock if needed. If something else carries Stealth Rock on your team, you can use Roar, a great support option to rack up hazard damage, spread burns (alongside Lava Plume), and phaze those special setup sweepers that dare using Heatran as setup fodder. It is also useful to scout opposing Dugtrio. Earth Power can be used instead of both options, as it allows specially defensive Heatran to take out opposing Heatran, as well as other Fire-types, Tentacruel, and Terrakion, all which would wall this set otherwise. Earth Power from offensive Heatran sets do not OHKO specially defensive Heatran, while it has a 78% chance to OHKO back with its own Earth Power.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A specially defensive spread is preferred over a physical one, because most of Heatran's resistances are specially-based. Also, most common physical attacks (such as Earthquake and Close Combat) aimed at Heatran hit it super effectively and would OHKO or 2HKO even with maximum investment in Heatran's physical bulk. Another reason is that Heatran can already use Lava Plume to burn opponents and shrug off physical hits.</p>

<p>An EV spread with 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 SpD with a Modest Nature is viable, and in this case, Flamethrower should be chosen as the attacking option. This lets Heatran hit a little harder, which can be useful in some situations; for example, it can OHKO standard Ferrothorn in rain 60% of time, something that the standard defensive Heatran cannot do. Another viable EV spread is a fast one, with 248 HP / 12 SpD / 248 Spe and a Calm nature. This EV spread can outrun Adamant Breloom and Jolly Scizor and KO with Lava Plume. It can also outspeed Substitute + Dragon Tail Kyurem-B and Roar it before it can phaze Heatran with Dragon Tail. If you are using Hidden Power Ice, this spread also lets Heatran outspeed defensive Gliscor and bulky Landorus-T. Hidden Power Ice is a useful move to take out Dragon-types, especially Dragonite, which would like to use a defensive Heatran as setup fodder if they run Lum Berry. An alternative status move is Will-O-Wisp. Due to Lava Plume's high burn chance and Toxic's higher accuracy, Toxic is generally preferred, but Will-O-Wisp has merit in that it is a much more reliable way to spread burns. Taunt may seem like an strange option, but it stops Ferrothorn from setting up on Heatran in rain; as absurd as it sounds, Ferrothorn can survive one Lava Plume if it's raining and set up an entry hazard. Forretress can also survive one Lava Plume thanks to Sturdy, and thus, Taunt may prove to be very useful. Also, the combination of Taunt, Protect, and Toxic lets Heatran take out Blissey and Chansey, two of its greatest nemeses.</p>

<p>Toxic Spikes support is appreciated, especially if Heatran plans to run Earth Power instead of a status move, but remember that Toxic Spikes is somewhat ineffective on this metagame. Even with Toxic Spikes, Toxic may still prove to be a great move, as it isn't always that you have the opportunity to set up two Toxic Spikes layers; plus, some Pokémon are immune to Toxic Spikes. Forretress is a great partner, because its high physical bulk complements the special bulk of Heatran; itcan use Spikes to complement Stealth Rock, attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can easily absorb, and check some Pokémon like Terrakion that can defeat Heatran. Wish support is appreciated because Heatran lacks reliable recovery. Vaporeon is one of the best choices, because it can also absorb Water-type attacks aimed at Heatran. Lastly, Jellicent also absorbs Water-type attacks and is immune to two of Heatran's weakness. Roserade can switch into bulky Water-types and is able to set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes, both which can complement Heatran's Stealth Rock. RestTalk Gyarados has amazing synergy with Heatran, resisting all of its weaknesses while handling most Water-types, physical Dragons, as well as Choice Terrakion with the help of Protect on Heatran.</p>

<p>Sun teams have a natural disadvantage against other non-hail weather teams, and this set is there to help them win the weather war. Although this Heatran is better used on sun teams, it can also be used on weatherless teams or even teams of other weathers to combat opposing weather inducers. Still, sun is the home of this set and is where it should be used most of the time, and for good reason. The combination of Sunny Day and Magma Storm allows Heatran to smack weather inducers, taking out their STAB on Water-type attacks in Politoed's case, or their increased Special Defense in Tyranitar's case. Magma Storm has the same power as Fire Blast, but traps the opponent so that it cannot flee.</p>

<p>Solarbeam is used alongside the other two moves because this Heatran can use Sunny Day to prevent weather inducers from taking advantage of a Heatran locked into Solarbeam. Speaking of weather inducers, they are all weak to this move and will be 2HKOed or OHKOed in sun, while they can do little back. The combination of Sunny Day and Solarbeam also means that this set can deal with bulky Water-types better than any other Heatran. As Magma Storm will trap them, they have no choice but to be 2HKOed.</p>

<p>The first three moves are all staples and should not be touched. The last moveslot contains 2 options: Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. Earth Power is the recommended option because otherwise, opposing Heatran would be able to switch in freely. This set has to lure Pokémon that resist its Fire-type STAB. As such, this set becomes a liability if there is a Pokémon that can switch in with absolute impunity. Hidden Power Ice is, however, is Heatran's best way to damage Dragon-types, so it can be considered if you have other ways of removing enemy Heatran, such as Dugtrio. With Hidden Power Ice, Heatran can also trap Dragon-types such as Adamant Dragonite, which will always be defeated if it switches into Magma Storm, as it will have its Multiscale brokenand will be outsped and easily OHKOed by Hidden Power Ice.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Air Balloon is the recommended item because it will help against Dragon-types, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice. Air Balloon will also help against Dugtrio; it will not be able to trap Heatran and will be KOed through Focus Sash if it switches on Magma Storm, effectively making this Heatran a difficult target for Dugtrio. Hippowdon is also hard-pressed to do much against Heatran if it sports an Air Balloon; it will actually be unable to touch Heatran if it uses Whirlwind instead of Ice Fang. Life Orb makes Heatran even more powerful and, in conjunction with entry hazards, can let Heatran OHKO the weather inducers instead of 2HKOing them.</p>

<p>Taunt can be used instead of both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice. If you have effective ways to deal with both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, Taunt will be highly useful, especially if used in conjunction with a Modest nature and a Life Orb. With Taunt, Heatran can potentially 2HKO both Blissey and Chansey with Magma Storm after a little of residual damage, and preventing their recovery will actually make this feat possible. This can also be done against Hippowdon, but you will need an Air Ballon, as otherwise Hippowdon will OHKO with Earthquake. Speaking of which, if Heatran has Taunt and Hippowdon does not have Ice Fang, it will be unable to touch Heatran at all, as long as the latter has Air Balloon. Even with Ice Fang, Hippowdon will be outsped and 2HKOed by Magma Storm. Shuca Berry seems like it is outclassed by Air Balloon, but Shuca Berry is not consumed by any non-Ground-, Poison-, and Fire-type attack, and still lets Heatran comfortably take a Dugtrio's Earthquake and retaliate with Magma Storm.</p>

<p>This Heatran is versatile and can still function as a strong special attacker outside its trapping role. It should be noted that Heatran will not always win against opposing weather inducers. For example, Choice Band variants of Tyranitar can OHKO Heatran with Superpower before the latter can set up sun and attack with Solarbeam. Choice Scarf variants also do the same; they do not OHKO, but they outspeed and 2HKO before Heatran can hit Tyranitar with Solarbeam. For this reason, Dugtrio is an excellent partner. Although it seems to be redundant as it can also trap, it is able to dispose of Tyranitar no matter which set the latter runs. Not only that, but Dugtrio can also dispose of opposing Heatran, freeing up the last moveslot for Hidden Power Ice on this set. Choice Scarf Politoed, as rare as it may be, is also an annoyance, as it can outspeed and OHKO with Hydro Pump before Heatran can even set up the sun. Timid Venusaur is for this reason a great partner. It can also deal with other dangerous Pokémon like Terrakion and Keldeo; Venusaur will outspeed even Choice Scarf variants of the latter if the sun is shining. Wobbuffet cannot deal with Tyranitar or Heatran as effectively as Dugtrio, but it can deal better with Choice Scarf Politoed, as well as faster Fighting-types.</p>

<p>Heatran can also function as a good revenge killer. Although base 77 Speed is seemingly not sufficient, it still lets Heatran outrun up to base 130s, as well as +1 Adamant Dragonite and +1 Adamant Gyarados. An advantage over other revenge killers is Heatran's typing and bulk, which means that it get much more opportunities to switch in, instead of having to rely on switching in after a teammate has been killed.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is the recommended STAB move because it has great sweeping potential, and Heatran is much less prone to becoming setup bait with it than Overheat. Earth Power is there to not be walled by opposing Heatran, but it is also very useful to revenge kill Rock-types such as Terrakion, as well as Lucario and Magnezone without relying on Fire Blast's shaky accuracy. Hidden Power Ice revenge kills Dragon-types, and is a more reliable way to deal with Gliscor and Landorus/Landorus-T than Fire Blast. Dragon Pulse deals more damage to Dragons 2x weak to Ice, such as the Lati twins, and Hydreigon. Those 4x weak to Ice take more damage from Hidden Power Ice, which is why it is usually the preferred option. However, Dragon Pulse has other advantages, like hitting Kyurem-B and Kingdra, two Dragon-types neutral to Hidden Power Ice; it is also this Heatran's best attack against Rotom-W. The last moveslot is a toss-up between Overheat and Flamethrower. Overheat dishes out the most damage possible and can be used if Heatran can afford to suffer from the Special Attack drop. Flamethrower is much weaker, but it is perfectly accurate and does not suffer from stat drops.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>Unfortunately, this set is not as powerful as other offensive sets, and due to being locked on one attack, it is even more prone to becoming setup bait should you predict wrongly. However, this set can also deal with Dugtrio. The only other of Heatran's sets that can do this are those that carry Air Balloon or Flame Charge.</p>

<p>Hidden Power Electric can be used to revenge kill +1 Gyarados, but note that Heatran will only outpace those that run an Adamant nature. The loss of Hidden Power Ice is not that bad, as Heatran can still use sun-boosted Fire attacks to OHKO Gliscor and Landorus, but you must use Dragon Pulse on the last slot to not be walled by Dragon-types. It may seem like an April Fools joke to mention Stone Edge, but it is useful for the sole purpose of revenge killing Volcarona. Unless Volcarona has Hidden Power Ground (be very wary if that's the case), it will do pitful damage to Heatran even after multiple Quiver Dance boosts, despite being able to outspeed it, while in return, Heatran hits with Stone Edge, which scores an OHKO even with a nature that hinders the Attack stat. A Modest nature can be used to provide even more power, which is especially useful if Heatran is being used as a late-game sweeper. Although it loses the ability to outpace +1 Gyarados and +1 Dragonite (if they have an Adamant nature), Choice Scarf Heatran is usually used on sun teams, where it is likely to be paired with a Chlorophyll user, which can outspeed the aforementioned Pokémon and revenge kill them.</p>

<p>Ninetales is the best partner for this set, as the sun it brings makes Fire Blast even more powerful, letting it revenge kill anything that doesn't resist it. Chlorophyll sweepers such as Venusaur can easily take out bulky Water-types that tend to wall this set. Venusaur can also defeat Blissey and Chansey in a strange, yet effective way. A partner that can deal with Pokémon that may try to take advantage of a Choice-locked Heatran is appreciated. Scizor, Celebi, Mamoswine, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T are some examples, taking care of threats like Terrakion, Landorus, and Keldeo.</p>

<p>A tendency that Heatran has is to force switches. This set takes advantage of those switches to set up free Substitutes. Behind a Substitute, Heatran can either attack or cripple the opponent with a status move. This is especially useful against threats that would defeat Heatran otherwise, such as Landorus, and Terrakion.</p>

<p>Fire Blast is an excellent STAB, and Substitute means that Heatran can usually afford to miss. Earth Power is the recommended coverage move, as otherwise, opposing Heatran stop this set cold. However, Hidden Power Ice is this set's only means of quickly disposing of Dragon-types, so it can be considered over Earth Power. The last slot goes to a status move. Toxic is the recommended option because it cannot be stalled out by reliable recovery due to its damage increasing over time, and it is much more reliable. It is especially useful against the bulky Water-types that love switching-in on Heatran. Will-O-Wisp, however, has an enormous advantage: crippling physical attackers not named Conkeldurr. It is so good when the opposing Terrakion try to break Heatran's Substitute, only to be burned and rendered useless for the rest of match. Another option is to use both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice, forgoing the use of a status move. This is not recommended, however, as Heatran likes to have a way to cripple bulky Water-types while it is behind a Substitute.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>You can use more HP EVs to make Heatran bulkier, but you have to take out EVs from Special Attack, as Heatran needs all the Speed that it can get to preserve its Substitute whenever possible. Unlike the main offensive set, this set can afford to have less power, as Heatran can also damage the opponent with status. However, this is not to say that Heatran will necessarily like to lose power due to the lack of investiment in Special Attack. Thus, think twice before adding any EVs to HP. Taunt can be used instead of the coverage move to transform this Heatran into a bulky stallbreaker. It can stall out walls like Blissey and Chansey with status and can prevent them from recovering with Taunt. Be very wary that Heatran will hate being walled by both Dragon-types and opposing Heatran, however.</p>

<p>Hydration Vaporeon does not mind status while it's raining and can just defeat Heatran with repeated Scalds. Pokémon with Natural Cure will not mind being statused that much, as they can simply switch out to cure status. Such Pokémon include Starmie, as well as Blissey and Chansey. However, they will still loathe status until they switch out (Blissey and Chansey can cure themselves if they have Aromatherapy, however)&mdash;thus, the only Pokémon truly unperturbed by this set is Hydration Vaporeon. Scizor can deal with the pink blobs, while Ferrothorn can deal with the bulky Water-types. Both also attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can use to switch in safely. If Heatran is not using Earth Power, it is recommended that you pack a partner that can take out opposing Heatran. Dugtrio stands out as the best option, as it can trap them with its ability. This Heatran can usually Toxic stall Politoed and Tyranitar, so Ninetales or your own Tyranitar can take advantage of this. A Tyranitar of your own is an excellent partner, as sandstorm damage will add up with status, killing the opponent faster; with hazards, this will punish Natural Cure Pokémon when they switch back in after healing their status. Anything that can take advantage of poisoned or burned opponents is a good partner. For example, setup sweepers like Latias are able to use poisoned Water-types as setup fodder, while Toxic pushes them into KO range. Celebi is peharps the best partner for this Heatran, as it has awesome synergy in general and can take out the Water-types that do not mind status, such as bulky Starmie and Vaporeon.</p>

<p>Heatran can equip a Choice Specs and murder opposing Pokémon with its powerful (and possibly sun-boosted) Fire Blasts. This set is so powerful that under sun it can 2HKO even many Pokémon that resist Fire Blast. Even Chansey and Blissey can hardly whitstand two sun-boosted Fire Blasts; half the time, they are 2HKOed after Stealth Rock damage. However, Overheat can replace Fire Blast as it is so powerful that it can OHKO even some Pokémon that resist it, such as frailer Dragons like Haxorus and Salamence. However, Overheat has two drawbacks; it forces Heatran to switch out after it is used (though a -2 sun-boosted Overheat is still very powerful), and does not let it 2HKO the pink blobs.</p>

<p>Although it is hard to find something that can tank two consecutive Fire Blasts and live to tell the tale, these sort of Pokémon exist. For example, opposing Heatran will not mind switching on Fire Blast or Overheat and will appreciate the boost to their own Fire Blasts thanks to Flash Fire. For this reason, Earth Power is the primary coverage move. Earth Power, when boosted by Choice Specs, also lets Heatran 2HKO non-specially defensive Tyranitar, which is useful because Tyranitar can normally tank Earth Power from other Heatran variants. Dragon Pulse is a more reliable way to deal with Dragon-types, though keep in mind that many Dragons will still take heavy damage from sun-boosted Fire Blasts. Hidden Power Ice can replace it, as it does more damage to Dragonite and Salamence, covers Garchomp more effectively, and is more accurate against Landorus and Gliscor. However, the latter two are easily OHKOed by Fire-type attacks anyway. Remember that using Hidden Power Ice will not let Heatran use Hidden Power Grass, which gives important coverage against bulky Water-types, especially Politoed, which has Drizzle to nerf Fire Blast. Flamethrower can replace Hidden Power Grass if you are using Overheat, as Flamethrower doesn't lower Heatran's stats and is more accurate. Remember that without Hidden Power Grass, bulky Water-types will usually wall this set, though many of them should be wary of taking repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts.</p>

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

<p>A Modest Nature is the main option to deal as much damage as possible. Timid can be used, especially if you run Hidden Power Ice, to outspeed Adamant Dragonite and OHKO it. It is also useful because Jolly Breloom would be able to outspeed and OHKO with Low Sweep otherwise. However, without the Modest nature, Heatran cannot guarantee the 2HKO on the pink blobs, even with Stealth Rock on the field.</p>

<p>A spread with 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD and a Quiet nature is viable and makes use of Eruption. Eruption, when boosted by Choice Specs and sun, is so powerful that it can even 2HKO Chansey without Stealth Rock support. However, Eruption is a move that is only legal with a Quiet nature. This means that Heatran should obviously be used with Trick Room support. In this case, physically defensive Cresselia is possibly the best partner, as it can set up Trick Room and wall some dangerous attackers for Heatran, like Sheer Force Landorus.</p>

<p>Although this Heatran can function without sun support, it is the sun that brings to the table many of the 2HKOs and OHKOs mentioned above (such as the 2HKO on the pink blobs), so Ninetales is the best parner. Also, Chlorophyll sweepers take advantage of the holes blown open by Heatran, so that they can take advantage later on the battle. Although Terrakion hates coming in on Earth Power or repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts, it will force Heatran out and potentially wreck the entire sun team with a SubSalac set. Timid Venusaur can revenge kill Terrakion even after the Salac Berry boost, but Gliscor or Forretress can also deal with this Terrakion too.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>A TormentTran set can be used, but this set is heavily reliant on Toxic Spikes support, and they are unfortunately innefective in this metagame. Also, there are many faster threats that pack super effective attacks against Heatran, so this set is hard to pull off. Keldeo is also a common threat that easily deal with TormentTran, as both of Keldeo's STABs hit it super effectively.</p>

<p>Shed Shell is another way that Heatran can use to deal with Dugtrio, not by defeating him, but by being capable of switching out even with Arena Trap. However, Heatran has more effective ways to deal with Dugtrio, via Choice Scarf sets, Air Balloon, or the moves Flame Charge and Magma Storm. It are also forced to forfeit a valuable item, like Leftovers or Life Orb. Shed Shell is much more viable on the defensive set, which has absolutely no way to deal with Dugtrio otherwise. However, without Leftovers, defensive Heatran will desesperately need Wish support, as it lacks reliable recovery.</p>

<p>Flash Cannon can be used as a secondary STAB that can hit Rock-types harder, but Heatran already has Earth Power for this. It does not receive STAB, but has much better coverage and can still hit Rock-types super-effectively. Other options like Dark Pulse and AncientPower are poor in terms of coverage, and even when super effective, are often outdamaged by Fire Blast, except against specific targets. Metal Sound can force switches or force the opponent to take heavy damage, but it is unreliable and gimmicky at best. As strange as it sounds, Stone Edge is an option if you desesperately need a way to take out Volcarona. Even with a negative nature, 4/0 variants of Volcarona are OHKOed. However, Stone Edge has absolutely no use apart from that specific threat. Heatran can use a RestTalk set since this is i only means of recovery, but awful sleep mechanics hinder this set's viability.</p>

<p>Don't use Flame Body. Flash Fire is what lets Heatran counter sun teams effectively, and Heatran usually loses to many physical attackers, because they carry Fighting- or Ground-type coverage anyway. Lastly, Heatran is also able to use a Magma Storm set without Sunny Day, or vice-versa. However, both moves are more effective when used thogether.</p>

[Checks & Counters]

<p>Chansey and Blissey are Heatran's best counters. They take nothing from most attacks, even when they are boosted, and are immune to status. However, they must watch out for sun-boosted Fire Blast from the Choice Specs set, which will 2HKO. Also, with a combination of Protect, Toxic, and Taunt, the specially defensive set can handle both blobs very well. Bulky Water-types are also excellent counters and checks as they take almost nothing from most Heatran's attacks. Those weak to Earth Power, such as Tentacruel, must watch out though, as Heatran can effectively deal with them. However, they hate status and loathe either Hidden Power Grass or Electric. Keldeo also hates those Hidden Powers, but can usually switch in safely and defeat Heatran with any of its STAB moves.</p>

<p>Terrakion is generally a good switch in to Heatran, as it can sponge a Fire Blast thanks to its resistance and force Heatran out to set up. However, it hates coming in on Earth Power early in the match, which will 2HKO if sandstorm is not up, but Heatran does not usually use Earth Power straight away because it would rather set up Stealth Rock. Terrakion must also watch out for burns from Will-O-Wisp and Lava Plume. Other Fighting-types can also work, but they all have a drawback that makes them shaky checks. For example, Conkeldurr is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, Lucario is hard-pressed to find an opportunity to switch into Heatran, and Breloom cannot OHKO a full-health Heatran with Mach Punch, while it is OHKOed back by Fire Blast. All of them except Conkeldurr also loathe status.</p>

<p>Anything with Earthquake is able to easily dispose of Heatran, but it can carry Air Balloon. Also, with so many foes immune to Earthquake, one must think twice before using this move. Dugtrio often carry Focus Sash to survive any hit with exception of Magma Storm. It can then trap Heatran and OHKO with Earthquake. Watch out though, as Heatran has multiple ways to deal with Dugtrio, such as via Air Balloon, Choice Scarf, Flame Charge, and the aforementioned Magma Storm. Landorus (both Therian and Incarnate), as well as Garchomp, can outspeed and KO Heatran with Earthquake, but they cannot switch into Hidden Power Ice (the former also fears boosted Fire Blast). If your own Heatran does not carry Air Balloon, opposing Heatran with Air Balloon are also good counters.</p>

<p>Calm Mind Latias takes little damage from most attacks, even Hidden Power Ice, and can proceed to set up on Heatran with impunity. Latios also works, but it is 2HKOed by Hidden Power Ice. Tyranitar is generally a good counter; it takes little damage from even Earth Power under sandstorm. Weather trapper sets will 2HKO with Solarbeam under sun, but the most common variant of Tyranitar, Choice Band, will OHKO with Superpower, not giving Heatran time to set up sun or attack back. Mamoswine does not fear even Air Balloon variants, as it often carries Superpower to deal with them. Porygon2 is rare, but it is absurdly annoying, as it traces Flash Fire, thus absorbing Fire Blasts, and takes little damage from any other move that Heatran may use; do note, however, that Porygon2 absolutely hates status and Taunt.</p>

<p>If Heatran lacks Earth Power, opposing Heatran have free reign, and if Heatran lacks Hidden Power Ice, Dragon-types are generally capable of coming in safely. Without Hidden Power Grass, Gastrodon can wall Heatran forever, but it must also watch out for Toxic. Lastly, Pokémon that Heatran usually defeat can instead defeat it with the appropriate move. For example, Heatran cannot switch on Scizor's Superpower, Venusaur's Earthquake, or Celebi's Earth Power.</p>

Can fit on any non-rain team, especially those looking for a way to setup Stealth Rock reliably, a way to deal with Dragon-types that lack a Fighting- or Water-type attack, or simply a way to wall sun teams

Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set, it can OHKO/2HKO any Steel- and Grass-type, many of them can be 2HKOed even on rain

Earth Power is there so that opposing Heatran do not wall him, so, it is a necessity (even more so than Fire Blast). However, it is also useful to, for example, 2HKO Terrakion (not that you would stay in on him; but you can discourage him from switching-in a second time).

Hidden Power Ice is the recommended Hidden Power. Is the combination of it and Air Balloon that allows Heatran to check most Dragon-types

Hidden Power Grass is a viable option to deal with Water-types, especially Rotom-W, Politoed, Starmie, and Gastrodon, all which can take the other attacks with ease

As for the last slot, Stealth Rock is the primary option. Heatran setups Stealth Rock reliably, thanks to the switches that it forces

If something else can setup Stealth Rock on your team, Toxic is the other main option to shut down common switch-ins like bulky Water-types, and beat Volcarona 1x1

Taunt shuts down common switch-ins, like the blobs and defensive Water-types, and also shut down Baton Pass

It can also surprise things expecting to use Heatran as setup fodder, like Gyarados

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Instead of Toxic, you can run Will-O-Wisp. It has the advantage of being capable of crippling Fighting-types not named Conkeldurr, as well as Gyarados

Flame Chage can be used to sweep late-game. It also lets Heatran beat Dugtrio, by hitting him on the switch, outspeeding, and then OHKOing with Fire Blast or a super-effective Hidden Power

Apart from those, Roar is yet another option, capable of surprising switches and setup sweepers. Unlike Taunt, it can rack up hazard damage

Dragon Pulse is an option on the last slot if you run Hidden Power Grass, as you can then still cover Dragons, which would not be possible with Hidden Power Ice. It works better when Life Orb is used as the item, since otherwise Heatran may not have the power to OHKO most Dragon-types after Stealth Rock damage

Overall, the last slot is mainly filler; choose which option you think that is the best for your team

Air Balloon is the primary item to avoid Ground-type attacks, Spikes, and being trapped by Dugtrio. Life Orb can be used to buff its attacks, especially when using Flame Charge, as the extra power is appreciated to sweep

Apart from Air Balloon and Life Orb, Leftovers can also be used, but being able to be immune to Ground-type attacks has generally more utility than having extra longevity

252 SpA to hit as hard as possible, 4 SpD to prevent the rare but annoying Porygon2 from grabbing an SpA boost from Heatran

A bulky spread can be used, with 244 HP / 252 SpA / 12 Spe can be used, with a Modest nature, as Heatran appreciates the extra bulk, but it will miss out outspeeding Adamant Dragonite, defensive Gliscor, and Breloom

The reason why a Timid nature is chosen, is because Heatran can outspeed Breloom (Jolly or Adamant), and Adamant Dragonite, and OHKO them with Fire Blast or Hidden Power Ice (after Multiscale has been broken), respectively

As for partners, Pokémon that attract Fire-type attacks are good partners, examples being Forretress, Ferrothorn, and Scizor

The former two are able to setup hazards to help Heatran dishing out more damage, and the latter can easily dispose of Blissey and Chansey, two notable counters to this set. Scizor also checks Lati@s, Tyranitar, and Terrakion, things that either Heatran struggles to damage, or is forced to run away from

Ninetales is a good partner to power up Fire Blast, making Heatran a dangerous sweeper even mid-game if it chooses to run Flame Charge

Tyranitar is another good partner to dispose of the pink blobs, as well as Lati@s, two things that can wall Heatran (Hidden Power Ice hurts, though, but does not 2HKO)

Celebi and Jellicent are two great partners that resist Heatran's weakness. The former easily disposes of bulky Water-types that counter this set, and the latter is immune to the only two weakness that Heatran have (with Air Balloon). Both counter Keldeo, a notable counter to this Heatran

Landorus-T can counter Terrakion, and thus is a notable partner. It can be easily fitten on offensive teams. Gengar is another check to Terrakion, as it is immune to Close Combat, outspeed, and do heavy damage with Focus Blast.

Heatran is sturdy and has a lot of key resistances, a wide support movepool, so it makes a good special wall, even though it has no reliable recovery

It also not setup bait, thanks to its 130 base SpA and Lava Plume's high burn chance

Lava Plume is, of course, the best STAB move to use on this set. High burn chance and reability are the reasons for this.

Stealth Rock is the primary option due to the switches that Heatran forces, but if there is something else that can setup it on your team, Roar is preferred to phaze and rack up hazard damage

Protect scouts choiced moves, and gives more Leftovers recovery, in adittion to racking up more residual damage on the opponent

Toxic and Will-O-Wisp are both status moves that can be used. The former is preferred because of Lava Plume's high burn chance

But instead, you can run Earth Power. Earth Power allows Heatran to take out opposing Heatran, as well as other Fire-types, that can wall this set otherwise. Earth Power from offensive Heatran sets do not OHKO this Heatran, but it has 78% chance to OHKO back with its own Earth Power. Another viable option is Hidden Power Ice, which defeats Dragon-types, Gliscor, and Landorus(-T)

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

The reason why a specially defensive set is chosen over a physical one, is because most Heatran's resistances are specially-based, and the most common physical attacks aimed at Heatran hit it super-effectively, such as Close Combat and Earthquake, and would OHKO or 2HKO even with maximum investiment. In adittion, Heatran can already use Lava Plume to burn opponents and shrug off physical hits.

An EV spread of 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 SpD with a Modest nature and Flamethrower as the main attacking move can be used, it lets Heatran hit a little harder, which can be useful on many situations. For example, it can be used to OHKO standard Ferrothorn on rain 60% of time, something that even standard defensive Heatran cannot do

Another viable EV spread is a faster one, with 248 HP / 12 SpD / 248 Spe and a Calm nature. This lets Heatran outrun Adamant Breloom and Jolly Scizor, and take them down with Lava Plume. It can also outspeed SubD-Tail Kyurem-B, and Roar him before it can phaze Heatran with Dragon Tail. This spread can also outspeed Gliscor and Landorus-T, which is a boon if you are using Hidden Power Ice.

Toxic Spikes support is appreciated if Heatran plans to run Earth Power instead of a status move, but Toxic Spikes is somewhat innefective on this new metagame

Forretress can do this job, and it can attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can easily absorb

Wish support is appreciated because Heatran lacks reliable recovery. Vaporeon is a great teammate because it can provide this, and absorb Water-type attacks aimed at Heatran

Jellicent also absorbs Water-attacks, and as a bonus, is immune to 2 of Heatran's weakness

Heatran has the tendency to force switches, and this set trys to take advantage of this, to setup a free Substitute

Fire Blast is the best STAB to run on this set, especially as Substitute means that Heatran can usually afford to miss

Earth Power is recommended to take out opposing Heatran, but Hidden Power Ice is this Heatran's only means of damaging Dragon-types.

The last slot goes to a status move. Toxic is the recommended option to surprise bulky Water-types; it can't be stalled out by reliable recovery and is more accurate

However, Will-O-Wisp can cripple any physical sweeper not named Conkeldurr

Another option is to use both Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice, forgoing the use of a status move althogeter. This is not recommended, though, as Heatran likes to have a way to cripple bulky Water-types while it is behind a Substitute

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Hidden Power Grass can be used to damage bulky Water-types, but this set has a better way to deal with them: crippling them with status

You can use more HP EVs to make Heatran bulkier, but you have to take out EVs from SpA, as Heatran needs all speed that it can get to preserve its substitute whenever possible

Please note that Pokémon with Natural Cure will not mind being statused, so this Heatran is yet another set that can't deal well with the blobs

This is not to mention that Vaporeon can simply cure itself from status if it's raining

Scizor can deal with the former, and Ferrothorn can deal with the latter. Both can also attract Fire-type attacks that Heatran can absorb

It's recommended that you use a partner that can take out opposing Heatran, like Dugtrio, if you are not using Earth Power.

This Heatran can toxic stall Politoed and Tyranitar, so your own Tyranitar or Ninetales can take advantage of this

Anything that can take advantage of poisoned or burned opponents is a good partner. For example, setup sweepers like Latias are able to use poisoned bulky Water-types as setup fodder, while Toxic puts them at KO range, or force switches.

Celebi is peharps the best partner for Heatran, as it can deal with bulky Water-type Pokémon that do not mind status, such as Starmie and Hydration Vaporeon. They have awesome synergy in general.

Heatran can also function as a good revenge killer. Its base 77 Speed lets it outrun up to Base 130s

Overheat is the recommended option because Heatran will be usually switching out anyway, and it is more accurate and lets Heatran dish out as much damage as possible

Fire Blast can be used instead to stay out for longer

Earth Power because again, you don't want to give free switch-ins to opposing Heatran and Rock-types

Hidden Power Ice revenge kills Dragons, and is a more reliable way to deal with Gliscor and Landorus, than using its innacurate Fire attacks

Dragon Pulse deals more damage to Dragons 2x weak to Ice (such as Lati@s and Hydreigon), but those 4x weak to Ice take more damage from Hidden Power Ice, which is why the latter is the preferred option. However, Dragon Pulse hits Kyurem-B, and Kingdra, two Dragons neutral to Hidden Power Ice. Dragon Pulse is also this Heatran's best attack against Rotom-W

Flamethrower to sweep late-game or in situations where Overheat is inadivsable

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

Unfortunately, this set is not as powerful as other offensive sets, and is prone to becoming setup bait if you choose the wrong attack.

However, this set can also deal with Dugtrio. The only other of Heatran's sets that can do this are those that carry Air Balloon or Flame Charge

Hidden Power Grass is yet another option to deal with Gastrodon and Quagsire

Hidden Power Electric lets you revenge kill Gyarados. The loss of Hidden Power Ice is not too bad, as Heatran can OHKO Landorus and Gliscor with Fire Blast/Overheat. However, you must then use Dragon Pulse instead of Flamethrower, to not be walled by Dragon-types

Ninetales is a good partner to power up Overheat, letting it revenge kill almost anything that doesn't resist it

On sun teams, Chlorophyll sweepers such as Venusaur easily take out bulky Water-types that tend to wall this set. Venusaur can even defeat the pink blobs on a strange yet effective way.

A partner that can deal with Pokémon that may try to take advantage of a Choice-locked Heatran is appreciated. Some examples are Terrakion, Keldeo, Dragonite, Salamence, Latias, and Gyarados. Scizor, Celebi, Mamoswine, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T are some examples.

Apart from them, Solarbeam is there to smack Politoed and Tyranitar, as well as any bulky Water-type foolish enough to switch-in, suck as Rotom-W, Starmie, Jellicent, and Gastrodon.

As Magma Storm will trap them, they have no choice but to be 2HKOed, and there's little they can do back.

Earth Power is a necessity to dispose of opposing Heatran, and thus is the recommended option

Hidden Power Ice is better used if you have a partnered Dugtrio, but in any case, it disposes of Dragon-types without relying on Magma Storm's shaky accuracy

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

This set can be used on non-sun teams, but seriously, it functions much better on them, and you should have better ways to win the weather war otherwise

For this reason, Ninetales is the best partner. Ninetales generally is the weather inducer that has the hardest time winning weather wars, so it appreciates this Heatran as a partner as well

Timid Venusaur is a partner that can deal with dangerous Pokémon like Terrakion. Under sun, it can outspeed even Scarf variants, and can also deal with Scarf Politoed, the only Politoed set that can beat this Heatran.

Trapping support from the likes of Dugtrio and Wobbuffet is appreciated to deal with Pokémon that give this set trouble, such as faster Fighting-types or weather inducers

The former can even free up a moveslot to Hidden Power Ice on Heatran

Something that can deal with Chansey and Blissey is a good partner. Xatu will beat them 1x1 due to a combination of Toxic, Roost, and Magic Bounce. Darmanitan and Victini OHKO them on the sun, SubToxic Gliscor setups on them, and Terrakion simply makes them run away

This set is the most powerful set that Heatran has. It opens holes on the opponent's teams, and leave the rest to Heatran's teammates

Fire Blast is so powerful under sun that it can 2HKO some Pokémon that resist it, and even the pink blobs can be 2HKOed with Stealth Rock damage

Overheat can replace it to dish out the most damage possible. However, it forces Heatran to switch after it uses this

Earth Power is there to not be walled by opposing Heatran

Dragon Pulse covers Dragon-types, and is Heatran's most effective option against the likes of Lati@s. Hidden Power Ice is more effective against Dragon-types 4x weak to it, as well as being more accurate against Landorus and Gliscor. However, the latter are already OHKOed by Fire-type attacks

And using Hidden Power Ice does not let Heatran use Hidden Power Grass, which gives important coverage against bulky Water-types.

But Flamethrower can replace Hidden Power Grass, especially if you are using Overheat. It may seem to be redundant to run 2 Fire moves on this set, but there are times when Flamethrower will be preferred over Fire Blast because it is more accurate, or over Overheat because it doesn't force Heatran to switch

[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]

A Modest nature is the main option to deal as much damage as possible, but Timid can be used, especially if you use Hidden Power Ice, to outspeed Adamant Dragonite and OHKO him.

A spread with 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD with a Quiet nature is viable and makes use of the move Eruption. Eruption is so powerful when boosted by Choice Specs and sun, that it can even 2HKO Chansey without Stealth Rock support. However, Eruption is a move that is only legal with a Quiet nature; this means that Heatran should be used with Trick Room support, obviously. Physically defensive Trick Room Cresselia is possibly the best partner (apart from Ninetales) for this reason.

Ninetales is appreciated as a partner, to power up Fire Blast, making it excessively powerful and capable of beating even the pink blobs

Also, on a sun team, Heatran can open holes for Chlorophyll sweepers like Venusaur, to take advantage of them later on battle

Although Terrakion hates coming on Earth Power or repeated sun-boosted Fire Blasts, it nonetheless can use a -2 Heatran as setup bait, and potentially wreck the entire sun team with a SubSalac set. Timid Venusaur can revenge kill this Terrakion's set, but Gliscor or Forretress can also deal with this Terrakion too.

[Other Options]

A TormentTran set can be used, but Toxic Spikes sucks on this metagame, and this set is hard to pull off

Shed Shell is another way which Heatran can deal with Dugtrio, not by defeating him, but by being capable of switching out. However, Scarf/Balloon/Flame Charge/Magma Storm sets are much more effective in terms of dealing with Dugtrio; you are also forced to forfeit a valuable item, like Leftovers or Life Orb

Flash Cannon can be used as a secondary STAB to hit Rock-types harder, but Heatran has Earth Power, which has no STAB but also cover Rock-types, but has better coverage. Flash Cannon works as a STAB option on rain teams, though. (Fire-type STAB still comes handy against things like Ferrothorn)

Dark Pulse and AncientPower are poor in terms of coverage, and even when super-effective, are often outdamaged by a neutral Fire Blast

Metal Sound can force switches or force the opponent to take heavy damage, but it is unreliable and gimmicky

Stone Edge is an option to take out Volcarona, OHKOing 4/0 variants even with a negative nature. But it has no use otherwise

Heatran can use a RestTalk set, since it is its only mean of recovery. However, awful sleep mechanics hinder this set's viability

Don't use Flame Body. Flash Fire is what lets Heatran counter sun teams effectively, and most physical sweepers have a way to 2HKO or OHKO Heatran anyway.

Lastly, Heatran can use a Magma Storm set without Sunny Day, or vice-versa, but both are more effective when used thogether

[Checks & Counters]

Chansey and Blissey are the only foolproof counters to Heatran, they take nothing from most attacks and are immune to status, but they must watch out for Specs sun-boosted Fire Blast which will 2HKO.

Bulky Water-types that are not weak to Earth Power, but they must watch out for Hidden Power Grass/Electric.

Keldeo hates Hidden Power Grass/Electric and repeated sun-boosted Fire-type attacks, but it can usually switch-in safely and OHKO with any of its STAB moves.

Terrakion is generally a good switch-in for Heatran. It hates coming out on Earth Power (which will 2HKO if sandstorm is not up), but Heatran does not straight away use Earth Power because it wants to use the opportunity to setup Stealth Rock, which is like if Heatran was saying "Hey Terrakion, you can come here free!". With sandstorm active, Terrakion does not mind Earth Power either, as it only has a very small chance to be 2HKOed. Heatran does not to want staying in because it will be OHKOed by Close Combat; Terrakion can take advantage of this to setup a SD/RP/Sub. It does have to watch out for Will-O-Wisp and Lava Plume, however.

Other Fighting-types can also work, but each of them has a unfortunate drawback that makes them shaky checks. Conkeldur is 2HKOed by Fire Blast, Lucario is hard pressed to find an opportunity to switch on Heatran, and Breloom does not even OHKO with Mach Punch without a boost, while Fire Blast easily OHKO back. All of them except Conkeldurr also loathe status

Anything with Earthquake is able to easily dispose of Heatran, but Heatran can carry Air Balloon, and with so many foes immune to Earthquake, one must think twice about using this move

Dugtrio often carry Focus Sash to switch out safely on any attack except Magma Storm, trap Heatran, and defeat him with Earthquake, or even Reversal. It must watch out for sets with Choice Scarf or Flame Charge, however.

Landorus (both Therian and Incarnate) can outspeed and defeat Heatran, but it cannot switch on Hidden Power Ice, or Fire-type attacks. The same applies to Garchomp.

Opposing Heatran with Air Balloon are good counters, as long as your own Heatran does not carry Air Balloon

CM Latias takes little damage from most attacks, even Hidden Power Ice, and proceeds to setup on it with impunity. Latios also works, but it loathes Hidden Power Ice and sun-boosted Fire-type attacks.

Tyranitar is generally a good counter. It takes little damage from even Earth Power on sandstorm. Weather Trapper sets will 2HKO with Solarbeam under sun, but the most common variant of Tyranitar, Choice Band, OHKO with Superpower, not giving Heatran time to setup sun or attack back.

Mamoswine does not fear even Air Balloon variants, as it often carry Superpower to deal with them

If Heatran lacks Earth Power, opposing Heatran have free reign, and if Heatran lacks Hidden Power Ice, Dragon-types are generally capable of walling and defeating Heatran

Without Hidden Power Grass, Gastrodon and Rotom-W wall Heatran forever. However, it must also watch out for Toxic

Moderator

Pocket, I disagree with Scarf being so far down. Scarf is definitely among the best Heatran sets atm. Not enough people prepare for it, and once rain is gone from the opponent's side of the field, they might be finished. Heatran's largest issue is Speed, and Scarf fixes that. Not to mention, Heatran is an excellent revenge killer with its typing, coverage, and power, which few other Scarfers have. Heatran is an excellent cleaner, especially in sun. I would say it competes with specially defensive for being second in the set order. Generally, Choice Scarf Heatran is a great anti-meta Pokemon. imo, offensive > choice scarf > specially defensive > weather trapper > choice specs.

A couple things on the specially defensive set: First off, Stealth Rock. Heatran is an amazing Stealth Rock setter. It has the resistances, the bulk, and the ability to force switches if your opponent doesn't know which set it is using. However, Stealth Rock + Roar needs to be possible with that set. Also, Roar is definitely mandatory imo; otherwise, Heatran can't deal with stuff like CM Latias, SubCM Jirachi, etc. On a more defensive team, sure, Toxic is great, but offensive teams don't necessarily need Toxic. Also, I don't get why you need Will-O-Wisp; Heatran fares poorly versus most physical attackers and can spread burn with Lava Plume regardless. I recommend moving it to AC. Also, Protect doesn't need to be mandatory. Heatran can live without it. With that, here's my proposed moveset

I really believe Stealth Rock should be the first slash on the offensive set mainly because Heatran is an amazing Stealth Rocker. Fire/Ground/Ice coverage is already good and honestly you won't be sweeping with Flame Charge with all the rain and sand around

Programmer

pokemon0078, I'd put Specially Defensive over Scarf, but it should be the third set mentioned in terms of viability.

Scizor is only a free switch if it's choiced to a move that's not Superpower, otherwise it's dangerous to Heatran.
In offensive set I'd put Stealth Rock first on the fourth moveslot and maybe Toxic for pesky Volcarona, who otherwise can Quiver Dance and Roost in your face even if you use Earth Power:
move 4: Stealth Rock / Toxic / Taunt
Flame Charge is too situational and you will be switching Heatran too much in this metagame to be useful at all. I'd rather add Protect as a fourth option or mention both in AC. Mention that Offensive's Earth Power does not OHKO Specially Defensive Heatran, but it will OHKO in the reverse if there's no air balloon:
252+ SpA Heatran Earth Power vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Heatran: 300-356 (77.92 - 92.46%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
0 SpA Heatran Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Heatran: 308-364 (95.35 - 112.69%) -- 68.75% chance to OHKO (guaranteed after Stealth Rock).

I'd mention that Heatran should always wear Earth Power in its moveset, it's too good and necessary to deal with other Heatrans and many switch-ins like Terrakion or even Volcarona. Mention that, however, you'll need to gain the speed tie. Offensive Heatran VS Offensive Heatran will be up who chose the better EV spread or who wins the speed tie.

I did the suggested changes, but as a note, Fire Blast does more damage to Volcarona than Earth Power, 2HKOing those that doesn't invest in bulk, and OHKOing after Stealth Rock damage, assuming that it doesn't Roosts. Although I agree that Toxic/Roar is still a more effective way to deal with Volcarona.

[*]Dragon Pulse deals more damage to Dragons 2x weak to Ice (such as Lati@s and Hydreigon), but those 4x weak to Ice take more damage from Hidden Power Ice, which is why the latter is the preferred option

Click to expand...

Could be noted Dragon Pulse also does good damage to Kingdra, I've seen some Sun teams run Kingdra on their team (most likely in case theres a weather war with Politoed), so taking out Kingdra with DP can help Heatran in his sweep against Sun teams.

Otherwise you are pretty much completely walled, with Fire Blast doing half of that 50% of the time and HP Ice doing even less. Of course this isn't exactly an optimal situation but I find it happens a lot when I use offensive Heatran in this meta.

Dragon Pulse also lets you hit Dragons for super effective damage, WHILE letting you use another Hidden Power. This is probably the most important reason for using Dragon Pulse, IMO, so you can run stuff like HP Grass to hit bulky Waters a bit harder (Rotom-W, Gastrodon, Vaporeon, etc).

Programmer

I used to run Dragon Pulse and HP Grass, but it won't allow to OHKO some bulky dragons that HP Ice would thanks to 4x weakness. Note it as an option, but HP Ice > Dragon Pulse imho thanks to weaknesses. Haxorus is not common enough.

Made the changes about Dragon Pulse. However, Dragon Pulse will need to be used with Life Orb to OHKO Dragonite after Stealth Rock damage, and as Air Balloon is the preferred item most of time, Heatran will really appreciate the extra damage that Hidden Power Ice brings to the table. That's why it will continue to be the primary option.

1) I think Modest is pretty reasonable, and probably better than Timid on certain teams. Modest is still outrunning base 120s, so all of note that you're missing out on is Weavile, Jolteon, and +1 Adamant Dnite.

2) Since scarf Heatran is all but gone from the meta you wont really run into speed ties much, so EVs in both cases might want to be tuned to outrun base 120s and base 130s respectively with extra EVs added to bulk (I'm not sure if there's some site policy not to do this with choice sets, but that space right above Jolteon really is a speed wasteland).

3) HP Grass and HP Electric are in the additional comments. I think the last move being slashed as Flamethrower/HP Grass is pretty legit since HP Grass hits Politoed, Rotom-W, and especially Gastrodon better than Dragon Pulse, and can achieve 2HKOs in a lot of situations. Also with all these dragons and waters in the meta I rarely find myself in situations where I would need to use a fire move more than twice in a row anyway, and Overheat is pretty adequate for that. HP Electric on the other hand is pretty niche since basically it only hits Gyara and Aerodactyl.

Regarding Choice Scarf Heatran, isn't outspeeding +1 Adamant Dragonite enough reason to use Timid? I'm not sure how much extra power Modest brings to the table but imo Timid should be the primary option regardless. Also, specially defensive Heatran can live without Protect so imo Stealth Rock should be slashed there. Roar is incredibly useful for racking up entry hazard damage and stopping boosting threats.

eruption isn't even worth a OO mention the fact it has to be quiet (since it only gets eruption via a gen 4 thing that locks it into quiet nature) and heatran only goes 227 max with quiet with scarf that only out-speeds +speed base 105s by a point there are no 105 base speed mons in OU and the other stuff you do outspeed are not staying in on heatran or are not bothered by it.

and trying to use it on Trick room team still has problems has for one it's weak to breloom ever more common tech mach punch which would bypass trick room.

Eruption is viable. Cresselia is the perfect partner for any Heatran that wants to use it, as it provides Trick Room, Lunar Dance, and has almost perfect defensive synergy with it. Use it on a sun team and you are set.

I think Flamethrower should be slashed on SpDef Heatran with Lava Plume. I also think 248 HP / 16 SpA / 244 SpDef, Modest should be considered as a spread. With that spread and Flamethrower, you increase your damage output by 57% at little cost to Heatran's effectiveness.

SpDef Heatran lacks any kind of power and hits like a fucking pussy. Flamethrower keeps your opponent honest in that regard. Lava Plume isn't usually better than Flamethrower because Heatran is running Toxic / Will-O-Wisp anyway (sometimes both). Tyranitar, Garchomp, Terrakion, Tentacruel are the only targets you really want to burn. You actually are better off using Toxic on Bulky Waters and Latias. These pokemon all take a pittance from Lava Plume anyway so you are better off going for the status on the switch as it is.

Again, not saying Flamethrower is completely better but they should be slashed. Special Defensive Heatran doesn't make most teams break a sweat and is horribly underwhelming. Fuck, I set up spikes with Ferrothorn (in rain) on it before. It doesn't OHKO Bulky Scizor in the rain either, LOL (have fun eating a +2 Superpower to the face).

The Overview should mention how the existence of other high-caliber threats, such as Latis, TTar and Dugtrio also plague Heatran, not just Politoed.

For the offensive set Politoed, Rotom-W, and defensive Starmie are more relevant threats than HP Grass so I'll be sure to list them, too.
~ Under AC, Scizor is more important for checking Latis, Tyranitar, and Terrakion than for pink blobs, so I'd stress that.
~ Mention Modest Nature with bulky spread in AC

I've been experimenting with the Weather Trapper. If I understand Zoom Lens correctly, it raises the accuracy of Magma Storm on the Politoed switch-in from 75% to 90%, so that might be worth a mention there.

Also, the Weather Trapper is a rather unique poke in that it strengthens your team against both Sun (as all Heatrans do) and Rain at once, which is nifty in this meta.

Add more teammates to deal with Terrakion, one of the best switch-ins to offensive Heatran, as you currently only have Forretress, which is not very resilient and dies to a +2 LO CC or +2 Rock Gem SE anyway. Some examples are Landorus-T and Gengar, and both are easy to fit on offensive minded teams

Specially Defensive

Additional Comments:

Mention Roserade and RestTalk Gyarados as partners. The first can set up Spikes and T-Spikes and gets free switches against the water-types that Heatran attracts. The latter has perfect defensive synergy with Heatran, aside from Rock and Electric moves, and Gyarados can handle most Water-types, physical Dragons, and even choiced Terrakion with the help of Protect on Heatran

Earth Power for opposing Heatran, Tentacruel, Terrakion and Infernape

Taunt to get past the blobs, Jellicent, and stop Ferrothorn in rain from setting up on Heatran. Whenever i use Taunt on SpD Heatran i use it over Roar, as Heatran needs Toxic and Protect to get past the blobs with Taunt

Hidden Power Ice for dragons, Gliscor, and Landorus(-T)

Mention a faster spread of 248 HP / 12 SpD / 248 Spe with a Calm nature. The EVs allow you to outrun Adamant Breloom, Jolly Scizor, SubD-Tail Kyurem-B (to Roar him out before he used Dragon Tail), and most defensive variants of Gliscor and Landorus-T. This lets you deal way better with those threats, especially when using Hidden Power Ice for Gliscor and Landorus-T

Substitute

Additional Comments:

Mention Celebi which easily handles Water-types immune to status, such as Starmie and Hydration Vaporeon, while having awesome synergy in general

Choice Scarf

Additional Comments:

Mention more teammates apart from Venusaur. Good teammates are those that can deal with the dangerous Pokemon that can set up on choice-locked Heatran, mainly Terrakion, Keldeo, Dragonite, Salamence, Latias, and Gyarados. Celebi, Mamoswine, Hippowdon, Landorus-T, and Scizor can deal with those threats, and thus work well with Heatran

Weather Trapper

Set Comments:

After mentioning Tyranitar and Politoed as targets for Sunny Day, you could also mention how it lets Heatran fuck up all the water-types that love to come into Heatran, such as Rotom-W, Starmie, Jellicent, and Gastrodon

Additional Comments:

Mention Timid Venusaur as a good teammate, which outspeeds and OHKOes Scarf Terrakion, a dangerous Pokemon for sun teams that can also easily switch into Heatran. Venusaur can also easily switch into Scarf Politoed, the only Politoed set that can beat this Heatran

Iirc there was a bulky spread that could be used with Chople Berry, which allowed Heatran to survive a CC from Terrakion and OHKO back with Solarbeam. I don't remember the exact EVs, but i will try to get some info on this, or wait for anyone else to post this spread

Partners to bust through Chansey and Blissey. Xatu with Toxic walls them and can force them out, Darmanitan and Victini OHKO them in sun, SubToxic Gliscor sets up on them, and Terrakion makes them run for their lives

Choice Specs

Additional Comments:

Add this spread: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD with a Quite nature. This spread should be used with Trick Room support obviously. Also mention that physically defensive Trick Room Cresselia is possibly the best partner for this set, except for Ninetales

Add Pokemon to deal with Terrakion, especially the SD SubSalac set that can setup on a -2 Heatran, or even on a Fire Blast, and then proceed to wreck the entire sun team. Timid Venusaur is a classic option, but Gliscor or Forretress work too

Checks and Counters

I want you to emphasize Terrakion as a Heatran switch-in, as it is one of the best switch-ins to him for offensive teams, and the most threatening Pokemon that scares Heatran out, sometimes making it a liability. Heatran will not use Earth Power from the get go anyway, as the first time it comes in it will want to set up SR, often giving an invite for Terrakion to come in. Also Terrakion in sand doesn't really mind taking Earrth Power from offensive Heatran, which do only 44.44 - 52.46%

Emphasize more Latias as a check. Offensive sets are straight up walled by CM Latias, which then proceeds to setup on it with impunity